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Maurizio Sarri is a man under duress. Having been announced as Chelsea manager in July of last year to replace the controversial Antonio Conte, the 60-year-old's arrival was greeted with joy by many, as they saw it as an opportunity for the club to finally play the attractive football it sought, while others were more sceptical owing to his dearth of trophies as a manager.
It all started so well for Maurizio Sarri, with the Italian going his first four months in charge without tasting defeat, guiding the club to an unbeaten run in 16 matches in all competitions before falling to a 3-1 defeat to Tottenham at Wembley in late November.
Since then, The Blues have looked out of sorts and are struggling badly for form at the moment, with them having won just two of their six Premier League matches since the turn of the year.
When 'Sarriball' was in full flow, The Blues manager was hailed as a tactical genius, but with results having turned against him, he is now hanging on for dear life as feelers indicate his job is on the line, with the notoriously trigger happy Roman Abramovic having lost patience with him.
As expected, the rumour mills have already been swirling with potential managers who could occupy the Stamford Bridge dugout next. In this piece, we shall take a look at five managers who could replace Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea.
#5 Laurent Blanc
The 52-year-old former French international is one manager who fits the bill as a potential replacement for Sarri as Chelsea coach.
Blanc had a distinguished playing career, representing some of the biggest clubs in the world including Inter Milan, Barcelona and Manchester United, winning a plethora of titles during his playing days.
He was also a seasoned international, making 97 appearances for the French national team and won the biggest trophy in football in 1998: the World Cup. In addition to that, he also won a European Championship two years later, so the notoriously inflated egos in the Chelsea dressing room can identify with him as a former superstar.
His coaching CV is also pretty impressive, as after cutting his teeth at Bordeaux and leading the modest club to a surprise Ligue 1 triumph in 2008, he moved on to PSG in 2013, where the club's dominance of French football truly started.
Under his guidance, the Parisian club won 11 of the 12 domestic trophies available, including three consecutive Ligue 1 titles, with their only domestic failure coming in the 2013/2014 Coupe de France, which was won by Guingamp.
His spell at PSG brought him in contact with some of the biggest names in football, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani and Thiago Silva, so he wouldn't be out of place managing the superstars at Chelsea.
He has been out of management since parting company with PSG in 2016, but an offer to coach one of the biggest clubs in England and test himself on the big stages once more would undoubtedly tempt the Ales born former defender out of his golf playing vacation.
#4 Arsene Wenger
Wenger may seem a ridiculous option at first choice, due to his two-decade association with Chelsea's great London rivals Arsenal. But as ludicrous as it may sound, Chelsea should consider him, even though last major honour was over 15 years ago (With all due respect to the FA Cup).
Dismissing the 68-year-old at first glance would be to ignore a fundamental aspect of Wenger’s last decade at Arsenal, which was the financial restriction placed on the club’s recruitment based on the huge expenses to build the Emirates Stadium.
Wenger did not have access to top quality players, as the club was not financially buoyant to remain competitive in the market with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City for the best talent, so he instead had to devise a model whereby the club’s extensive scouting system sought out budding talent on the cheap across Europe, then bred them into superstars and sold them off for a healthy profit.
This model, even though it did not translate into on-field success, was extremely useful for the club’s finances, and ensured Arsenal steadily posted profits, which is an increasingly rare occurrence for big clubs today.
That Wenger was still able to achieve some modicum of success and ensure the club still qualified for the Champions League despite having such inferior players is a testament to his managerial abilities.
Wenger is one of the most innovative managers tactically in the history of the game, and his records with Arsenal in the earlier part of his tenure when he had the privilege of coaching some of the best players in the world speaks for itself.
At Chelsea, Arsene would be in charge of some a team of players with a lot of talent, so his tactical nous should be able to get the best out of them, while he also possesses the requisite man management skills to tame the egos in the Chelsea dressing room, as when it comes to man management, there are not many managers in world football better than Wenger, who has a history of building teams and an identity for them, from scratch.
Moreover, the next appointment at Chelsea could be a short fix, a short-term appointment in a caretaker capacity to oversee the managerial affairs of the club until the end of the season, when they go for their preferred option, and it is difficult to see beyond Wenger for a perfect fit for this role (although this could be a snag due to his history of long term commitments)..
#3 Gianfranco Zola
It is a very common custom in football for boards to appoint assistants in a caretaker capacity upon the termination of a manager's contract and if this is the path Chelsea is to tow, then Gianfranco Zola could find himself as Chelsea's next manager if Maurizio Sarri is given the sack.
The Italian spent seven years at Stamford Bridge as a player, helping to usher in the new era of success and played his way into the hearts of Chelsea fans, establishing himself as one of the greatest players in the club's history.
Even though the 52-year-old is yet to have a taste of first-team management yet (as his assistant manager role at Chelsea is his first foray into management), his status as a former Chelsea great could see him succeed at the club much like Zinedine Zidane and Pep Guardiola did at Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively despite their relative inexperience.
#2 Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane achieved immense success during his playing days, establishing himself as one of the all-time greats with his displays on the field for Real Madrid, Juventus, and the French national team.
Upon retirement, Zinedine Zidane ventured into management and was in charge of the youth setup at Real for some years before making the step up as assistant to Carlo Ancelotti, where they helped the club achieve the long awaited La Decima.
He got his big break when he was asked to step in as Benitez' replacement in 2016 and many saw it to be a short term appointment till the end of the season until a more experienced coach could be brought in.
However, Zidane absolutely defied expectations, leading an unfancied Real side to win the 2016 Champions League, which is a feat they repeated for the next two years consecutively.
There were also other trophies won in La Liga as well as the FIFA World Cup, and Zidane ended his tenure as Real boss with an impressive nine trophies won in just two and half years before shockingly announcing his resignation after guiding the club to an unprecedented third consecutive Champions League triumph.
Zidane did not achieve his success on the basis of any great tactical innovation. Instead, he elected to focus on his man management of the humongous egos at Real Madrid (maybe his status as a former Galactico helped play a role), getting the otherwise immensely competitive Ronaldo to accept rotation.
He was widely tipped to replace Mourinho at Manchester United, but failed to land the role and with Solksjaer looking likely to get the job on a permanent basis, the coast could be clear for Zidane to be appointed by Chelsea.
#1 Frank Lampard
For 13 years, Frank Lampard wore the blue of Chelsea, going from a young untested player into one of the greatest players in the club';s history.
For the entirety of Chelsea's dominance from the middle of the last decade, Frank Lampard was at the heart of it (literally), helping the club with his displays in midfield and earning widespread acclaim as one of the best midfielders in the world during his prime, winning everything winnable at club level, while also being named the second best player in the world in 2005.
Upon his retirement, 'Super Frankie' delved into management, being named as head coach of Championship side Derby County and he has performed creditably well there, as the club seeks promotion back to the Premier League.
Earlier in the season, he proved his managerial mettle when he tactically out witted former manager and all-time great Jose Mourinho as Derby knocked out Manchester United of the League Cup at Old Trafford, while he also took Chelsea all the way in the very next round.
Lampard has moved to distance himself away from the Chelsea role, but it might prove to hard to turn down the job if the club close to his heart comes knocking.
